Abstract

Introduction: The tyrosine kinase inhibitors regorafenib and cabozantinib remain the mainstay in second-line treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). There is currently no clear evidence of superiority in efficacy or safety to guide choice between the two treatments. Methods: We conducted an anchored matching-adjusted indirect comparison using individual patient data from the RESORCE trial of regorafenib and published aggregate data from the CELESTIAL trial of cabozantinib. Second-line HCC patients with prior sorafenib exposure of ≥3 months were included in the analyses. Hazard ratios (HRs) and restricted mean survival time (RMST) were estimated to quantify differences in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Safety outcomes compared were rates of grade 3 or 4 adverse events (AEs), occurring in >10% of patients, and discontinuation or dose reduction due to treatment-related AEs. Results: After matching adjustment for differences in baseline patient characteristics, regorafenib showed a favorable OS (HR, 0.80; 95% CI: 0.54, 1.20) and ∼3-month-longer RMST over cabozantinib (RMST difference, 2.76 months; 95% CI: −1.03, 6.54), although not statistically significant. For PFS, there was no numerical difference in HR (HR, 1.00; 95% CI: 0.68, 1.49) and no clinically meaningful difference based on RMST analyses (RMST difference, −0.59 months; 95% CI: −1.83, 0.65). Regorafenib showed a significantly lower incidence of discontinuation (risk difference, −9.2%; 95% CI: −17.7%, −0.6%) and dose reductions (−15.2%; 95% CI: −29.0%, −1.5%) due to treatment-related AEs (any grade). Regorafenib was also associated with a lower incidence (not statistically significant) of grade 3 or 4 diarrhea (risk difference, −7.1%; 95% CI: −14.7%, 0.4%) and fatigue (−6.3%; 95% CI: −14.6%, 2.0%). Conclusion: This indirect treatment comparison suggests, relative to cabozantinib, that regorafenib could be associated with favorable OS (not statistically significant), lower rates of dose reductions and discontinuation due to treatment-related AEs, and lower rates of severe diarrhea and fatigue.

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel

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First-Page Preview

Received: April 04, 2022
Accepted: September 07, 2022
Published online: October 07, 2022

Number of Print Pages: 11
Number of Figures: 2
Number of Tables: 3

ISSN: 2235-1795 (Print)
eISSN: 1664-5553 (Online)

For additional information: https://www.karger.com/LIC

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